Catapult.



PATENTED MAR. 15, 1 904.

L. G. CLARK.

GATAPULT.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 4. 1903.

N0 MODEL.

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ilNrrnD STATES Patented March 15, 1904.

LOUIS G. CLARK, OF HELENA, MONTANA.

OATAPULT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 754,745, dated March 15, 1904.

Application filed March 4, 1903. Serial No. 146,159. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS G. CLARK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Helena, in the county of Lewis and Clarke and State of Montana, have invented a new and useful Toy Sun or Catapult, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in toy guns or catapults.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of toy guns or catapults and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efiicient toy designed, primarily, for use in a game and adapted to throw a missile, such as a ball and feather, with considerable force and great accuracy. I

A further object of the invention is to provide a toy gun or catapult of this character of great strength and durabilityadapted tobe readily and securely set and capable of being easily discharged.

A further object of the invention is to provide a toy gun or catapult having a spring throwing-arm for engaging the feathered ball or other missile and to provide an efficient guard for preventing the said arm from swinging too far and coming in contact With the hand of the marksman.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that changes in the proportion and minor details of construction within the scope of the claims may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a toy gun or catapult constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same, the gun or catapult being shown set in full lines andsprung in dotted lines. Fig. 3 is an end elevation. Fig. 4. is a transverse sectional view.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawlngs.

the toy. The sides of the frame are coiled at their front terminals to provide eyes 3 and are extended and bent to form depending hookshaped arms 4. The eyes receive a transverse bolt or pin 5, which is provided at one end with a head 6 and at the other end with a nut 7, as clearly shown in Fig. 4, washers 8 being interposed between the eyes and the nut and head of the bolt; but the pin or bolt may be secured to the frame in any other manner.

Also any other preferred form of transverse support may be employed. The pin or bolt receives coils 9 of a spring throwing-arm 10, constructed of spring-wire or other suitable material, which is doubled between its ends to form a loop-shaped throwing-arm and which is coiled at opposite sides of the same, the terminals of the resilient Wire being secured to the arms 4 of the frame at 11, as clearly illustrated in Figs. 3 and 1. The sides of the spring throwing-arm are bowed outwardly at 12 to receive the feathered ball 13, which is illustrated in dottedlines in Figs. 1 and 2, and the said arm is bent between the bowed portion and its outer end to form U-shaped portions 14: for engaging a transverse catch or stop 15 of the supportingframe, whereby the catapult or gun is set, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. The arm 10 projects beyond the approximately U shaped bends to provide a tongue or trigger 16, which depends from the catch or stop 15 when the gun is set and which is adapted to be pressed rearwardly by the finger of the operator to discharge the gun or catapult. The toy is grasped by the handle, and the depending end portion of the spring throwing-arm is located in advance of the grip or handle 2 in convenient position to be engaged by the finger of the operator.

The transverse catch or stop 15 consists, preferably, of a piece of resilient wire stretched across the frame near the center thereof and coiled around the sides of the frame, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The coils 17 are adapted to slide on the adjacent side of the frame, and the opposite coils 18 are held by an extension 19 of the wire of which the catch or stop is constructed. The extension or brace 19 is located between the sidesof the frame and is coiled around the rear portion of the latter at 20. The transversely-disposed stop or catch is permitted to havea backwardand-forward movement to facilitate setting and tripping the spring throwing-arm, and the resiliency of the latter also facilitates such operation.

In order to prevent the spring throwingarm from swinging beneath the frame and striking the finger of the operator, a guard 21 is provided. This guard 21, which is approximately U-shaped, is constructed of stout wire and extends downward from the sides of the frame at the ends of the transverse rod or pin, and it projects slightly in advance of the same. The guard is supported by suitable braces 22, extending from its outer portion to the depending rigid arms l of the frame, and the wires of the guard and the braces are secured to the frame and the arms by twisting them around the same, as indicated in Figs. 3and 4.

V hen the gun or catapult is set, as illustrated in full lines in Figs. 1 and 2, the outwardly-bowed portions of the sides of the spring throwing-arm lie between the front portions of the sides of the frame and are curved longitudinally. The ball rests upon the bowed portion of the spring throwing-arm and a seat is thereby provided for the missile, which may be held steady while a person is taking aim at a target. The toy gun or catapult is designed to be used in a game having a target with numbered apertures of a size to permit the ball to pass through them, and the person making the highest score wins the game. Any form of target may be employed,

and as this does not constitute a part of the present invention illustration thereof is unnecessary.

hat I claim is 1, Atoy gun or catapult comprising a frame provided at its front end with a guard extending downward from the frame, and a spring throwing-arm connected with the frame at the upper end of the guard and capable of oscillation, said spring throwing-arm being limited in its movement by the guard, substantially as described.

2. A toy gun or catapult comprising a frame,

a catch or stop located between the ends of the frame, and a spring throwing-arm connected with the frame in advance of the catch or stop and provided with means for engaging the same and extended beyond the catch or stop to form a trigger, substantially as described.

3. A toy gun or'catapult comprising a frame provided between its ends with a catch or stop, a spring throwing-arm connected with the frame at the front end thereof, and provided at its outer end with means for engaging the catch or stop, and a guard extending from the front end of the frame and arranged in the path of the spring throwing-arm to limit the movement thereof, substantially as described.

4:. A toy gun or catapult comprising a frame having sides, a spring throwing-arm consisting of a loop connected with the front portion of the frame and. having its sides separated to form a seat or support for a missile, and a catch or stop extending across the frame and provided with coils receiving the sidesof the same, substantially as described.

5. A toy gun or catapult comprising a frame having sides, a transverse catch or stop connecting the sides of the frame, and a spring throwing-arm connected with the frame at the front portion thereof and provided near its outer end with an approximately U-shaped bend to receive the catch or stop and extending beyond the same to form a trigger, substantially as described.

6. A toy gun or catapult comprising a frame having sides, a transverse catch or stop connecting the sides between the ends thereof, a spring throwing-arm connected with the front portion of the frame and provided with a bend to engage the catch or stop and extending beyond the same to form a trigger, and a guard depending from the front portion of the frame and arranged in the path of the arm, substantially as described.

7. A toy gun or catapult comprising a frame having opposite sides coiled to form eyes and extending beyond the same to provide arms, a transverse supporting device extending through the eyes, a spring throwing-arm having coils arranged on the transverse supporting device, and a guard extending downwardly from the sides of the frame and provided with braces and connected with the said arms, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

LOUIS Gr. CLARK.

\Vitnesses:

E. A. CARLETON, C. A. BRIEN. 

